Is Being Vegan Hard?

When I tell someone I am vegan, I always get a plethora of comments and questions such as ‘Oh my gosh, how do you keep up with a vegan diet?’ and ‘I could never do that!’. This got me thinking, why do some slip right into this lifestyle with grace and ease but some struggle to find their feet? I raised the question to myself, how am I able to maintain such a supposedly ‘restrictive’ lifestyle?

Be Adventurous with Food!

I think first and foremost it is important to say, veganism is definitely not restrictive. It only is, if you allow it to be. Transitioning to a vegan diet has forced me to learn more about food in order to get the tastes I desire without meat and dairy. It has also taught me more about the nutrition values of foods, which I think is vital in order to have a balanced diet. What I am trying to say, is that you have to be more aware of what you are putting into your body and become more adventurous with your cooking. I had never cooked with tofu or soy before, so it was a fun learning curve for me.

Why are you Doing it?

Someone asked me before ‘So, did you lose weight on this diet?’ and my answer was yes, but only a bit. From what I have witnessed, if you are going vegan purely to ‘get skinny’, you are not going to keep it up. It only turns veganism into another fad diet which it most definitely is not. It is a lifestyle. I am vegan for ethical reasons, and those reasons are long standing which means I will be on this diet the rest of my life. I very rarely feel tempted by animal products, but if I ever do I remind myself of what goes into making it and my cravings will reverse.

Substitutes for Meat & Dairy

If you are a mega meat admirer then I do sympathise with you when transitioning to a vegan diet because I know it can be difficult. However, my friends, there is no need to feel like you are missing out! Anything you can think of, there is a vegan alternative. I promise you! There is vegan chicken, sausage, meat pies, sausage rolls and even vegan eggs! Linda McCartney has made us fret no longer. Her range of vegan food is mind blowing. Just do a little bit of research and you can easily find a vegan substitute. There is literally no reason to go for animal products these days when there is an ethical version easily available.

So, as you can tell the stigma about the difficulties of being vegan are not true. It is so simple to switch to a vegan diet! The next step is learning to season that soy meat to perfection.